Would U2 presale tickets go the same way?

[U2BROTHR]

Once again....I'm a huge U2 fan like everyone else here. I also listen to other types of music too. NIN is on tour and they often put on a fantastic show. Yeah...I know it's not like a U2 show, but music lovers can attest to the stage show that NIN brings to the table.

If this has been posted or discussed before, mods please delete.

Anywhoo....I figured I'd give you the gist of how the NIN presale went for me. I managed to login and get tickets very close to the stage. I could either get GAs on the floor or seats 3 to 6 rows up from the floor close to the stage.

I'm posting this because I'm wondering if other bands are going to follow suit. Remember, these are fan member, presale tickets. We all know last the Vertigo tour 1st leg ticket sales for fan members were a bust so management fixed it and offered the tickets via the U2.com website by giving folks a unique presale code.

Well for NIN, you have to register and be a member. I received an email THE DAY OF THE SALE NOTIFYING ME THAT PRESALE TICKETS WOULD BE AVAILABLE AT 5pm THAT DAY.

Good thing I checked my email. I then had to register my name and information for the ticket purchasing part of the site. Tickets were limited to 2 tickets per registered user, per show. So, I can buy two tickets for Toronto, but not four. However, I could buy two tickets for Toronto and two tickets for Ottawa and two for any other venues. Again, maximum two tickets per venue.

Here's the major catch in an effort to make sure fans and not scalpers get the tickets. TICKETS THAT ARE PURCHASED VIA THE PRESALE ARE NOT GOING TO BE MAILED. Instead tickets have to be picked up at a "special entrance" a few hours the day of the show.

Photo ID AND the purchasing credit card must be present to pick up the tickets. THE NAME ON THE CREDIT CARD must match the PHOTO ID that must match THE NAME REGISTERED WITH WILL CALL.



Fair enough right? There's more.....

So you cue up on the day of the show. Present your ID and credit card and reciept and get your tickets. After you receive your ticket, you are then directed to a PRE-SALE TICKET HOLDERS area where you are then allowed into the show. Thus, preventing people from possibly scalping of tickets in the parking lot or outside the venue before the show. You get your tickets and then you MUST stay in a certain area to be let in. WOW!

From their forums website:

When you purchase presale tickets, you'll need to enter your legal name exactly as it appears on your identification. When you arrive at the show, there will be a special entrance for nin.com members. Present your ID at the entrance and you'll receive your personalized ticket, which will have your name on it (no tickets will be sent out in advance). You'll then have to enter the venue immediately. This process ensures that our presale tickets are purchased only by fans who are attending the show, and are useless to scalpers and ticket brokers.

Dear Pre-Sale Ticket Holder,

Here are instructions for picking up your tickets for the Edmonton show at Rexall Place on July 28th.

Pre-sale tickets will be available for pick up at a designated NIN.com Will Call location at 3PM. Legal ID will be required matching the name on your tickets in order to pick them up. In addition, there will be a designated entrance at the building for pre-sale ticket holders to enter the venue.

There will be a NIN representative on site to assist you.

Thanks, and we hope you enjoy the show.

Sincerely,

NIN Musictoday Ticketing Customer Service



-Stand in line at a will-call window at you venue.
-At about 3:30 you'll be able to pick up your tickets from the window.
-After you pick-up your tickets, you'll be directed to a holding area where they won't allow you to leave once you've entered.
-After waiting here, at about 6:45 the doors will open to let the pre-sale ticket holders in.





So.....what do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? Excessive? Problems? Loop holes? After years of concert going, I've never seen it done this way before.

 

[Liesje]

Interesting.

My main issue is that I'm a control freak, I HAVE to have tickets in my hand, ASAP. The closest shows for me are at least 2 hours away. I can't stand having to travel without my tix. But that's just me

The other problem is the name on the card matching the ID. My husband and I share certain accounts. His name is on the card, but I am on the account (called the bank and added me, so I use his card and sign my own name). Most U2 shows I go to are with girl friends or total strangers off Interference, not him.

Personally I don't have any issues with a two ticket limit.

 

[ramblin rose]

This systems sounds great. I just don't think U2 care enough about all of these logisitics to go to the trouble of doing all this.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

pearl jam has done it this way for years and there is no reason whatsoeve that u2 couldn't do the same thing other than lazyness. you need to show a photo ID to pick up your tickets day of show.

 

[U2BROTHR]

pearl jam has done it this way for years and there is no reason whatsoeve that u2 couldn't do the same thing other than lazyness. you need to show a photo ID to pick up your tickets day of show.

Yeah...but what about the fact you have to get your tickets and then boom...you are must enter after waiting in a specific closed off area. Pearl Jam does that too?

 

[vertpomme]

I was a Spiral member and have a nin.com account. I
LOVE the NIN presale. It made getting
tickets (at the actual price they were meant to be
sold at) so easy. And as you pointed out, the two ticket
maximum and ID checking makes it impossible for one
person to buy multiple tickets for resale. The two ticket
thing is enforced 100%. Back in 2006, I tried to see if I
could get 4 tickets for the same show to see if it really
worked. I got 2 GA & 2 reserved seats, and, within an
hour, I received an email telling me I had two orders for the
same show & to contact musictoday/ninticketing. I was
allowed to keep one order & the other one was deleted.
If you don't respond to the "warning" email promptly,
both orders are cancelled - no questions asked.

Being allowed to enter the venue as soon as you get your
tickets is awesome, but it doesn't always work like that. Tickets
are handed out around 3pm. I have been to shows a couple
of years back when it was cold and we got in 1-2 hours early,
but I've also waited outside only to be let in a fraction before
the general public. In the case of NIN, getting let in early is
at the sole discretion of Trent. I imagine that with U2 it would
be the same; getting in early would be up to the guys.

And as for loopholes, the only one I've seen in regards
to the NIN system is when people sell/trade their tickets.
However, the band's fanclub/ticketing liaison usually is
pretty strict and requires people to have an email from
the original seller giving the current ticket holder the right
to use them.

I'd love to see U2 try something like this, but I am not sure
it would work. The NIN fanbase is so much smaller compared
to U2's, and I remember one time when there were so
many NIN fans trying to get tickets at once that we crashed
musictoday's servers. I cannot imagine what would be
needed for U2 to pull off that kind of presale. I mean, I guess
no more then 5 shows per time slot could go on sale or there'd
be disaster.

 

[ramblin rose]

Yeah...but what about the fact you have to get your tickets and then boom...you are must enter after waiting in a specific closed off area. Pearl Jam does that too?

No Pearl Jam doesn't make you go in right after picking up the tickets. They also don't do GA.

 

[Axver]

It's stuff like this that is making me increasingly dislike larger concerts. I've been attending more and more smaller concerts lately, and I find the casual and relaxed ticket-buying process to be far more preferable. The complications, the politics, and the scalping you experience with a band like U2 is starting to feel over-the-top, especially when I can buy a ticket to a great show for only a few dollars whenever I feel like it, since I barely even have to worry about it selling out on the night, let alone beforehand. It just makes the concert experience that much more effortless. The fact there's barely even a queue when I show up 5 minutes before doors open and I can lazily get myself a drink and merch before strolling up to the front row is just the icing on the cake. After all, a concert is meant to be enjoyable entertainment. Not a stressful hassle. Daily life has enough stressful hassles.

So while U2 may play 2 hours of damn good live music, the whole kerfuffle of getting tickets amidst the demand and pandemonium, the pre-sale red tape and the general sale scalping, followed by lengthy queuing just does not seem attractive. Especially when I am paying much more for the "privilege". I think I'll take little $10 club shows to 200 people rather than $50-150 U2 shows to 20,000-80,000, thanks. Especially if a U2 pre-sale means being herded around like little more than cattle.

 

[Dusty Bottoms]

This systems sounds great. I just don't think U2 care enough about all of these logisitics to go to the trouble of doing all this.

agreed

 

[toscano]

Yeah...but what about the fact you have to get your tickets and then boom...you are must enter after waiting in a specific closed off area. Pearl Jam does that too?

Yeah but so what if that's what they do ? It makes sure the person picking up the tickets isn't going to go off and scalp them

 

[U2BROTHR]

Yeah but so what if that's what they do ? It makes sure the person picking up the tickets isn't going to go off and scalp them

I'm not saying anything is necessarily wrong. I'm just suggesting that perhaps if one needed a washroom break or a smoke, it might be difficult. I realize their intentions: making sure the tickets stay in the hands of the fans. I'm asking for opinions on the process. Should U2 follow suit?